“Oh, fiddle!” said Louisa, exasperated. “Well, Porson, what is it now?”
The butler, who had come back into the room, said primly: “The Honourable Cedric Brandon, my lady, to see Sir Richard. I thought perhaps your ladyship would wish to receive him.”
“I don’t suppose he can throw the least light on this mystery, but you may as well show him in,” said Louisa. “Depend upon it,” she added to her husband, when Porson had withdrawn himself again, “he will have come to learn why Richard did not keep his engagement with Saar this morning. I am sure I do not know what I am to say to him!”
“If you ask me, Cedric won’t blame Richard,” said George. “They tell me he was talking pretty freely at White’s yesterday. Foxed, of course. How you and your mother can want Ricky to marry into that family is what beats me!”
“We have known the Brandons all our lives,” Louisa said
defensively. “I don’t pretend that—” She broke off, as the Honourable Cedric walked into the room, and stepped forward, with her hand held out. “How do you do, Cedric? I am afraid Richard is not at home. We—think he must have been called away suddenly on urgent affairs.”
“Taken my advice, has he?” said Cedric, saluting her hand with careless grace. “ “You run, Ricky! Don’t do it!” that’s what I told him. Told him I’d sponge on him for the rest of his days, if he was fool enough to let himself be caught.”
“I wonder that you should talk in that vulgar way!” said Louisa. “Of course he has not run! I dare say he will be back any moment now. It was excessively remiss of him not to have sent a note round to inform Lord Saar that he could not wait on him this morning, as he had engaged himself to do, but—”
“You’ve got that wrong,” interrupted Cedric. “No engagement at all. Melissa told him to call on m’father; he didn’t say he would. Wormed it out of Melissa myself an hour ago. Lord, you never saw anyone in such a rage! What’s all this?” His roving eye had alighted on the relics laid out upon the table. “A lock of hair, by Jove! Devilish pretty hair too!”
“Found in the library this morning,” said George portentously, ignoring his wife’s warning frown.